6 Feet Under
by FriendlyNeighborhoodCoolGirl
Summary: Alfred Jones was given a simple task; Deliver a strange chip to a certain location, no questions asked. Easy money, and an easy job too. But he hadn't been told that a bullet in his head would be part of the delivery. Surviving the attempt, the courier sets out to find the conman who tried to kill him, 'Iggy'. He'll show him that it takes more than a bullet to kill him. A lot more.
1. Prologue

Puff.

Arthur took a long drag of his cigarette, staring down at the courier who lay on his side, face illuminated by the night sky. The only thing heard was the sound of shoveling dirt and the short puffs of breath the Englishman let out occasionally. "For God's sake, how long does it take to dig a bloody hole?" He asked, impatience thick in his voice. He reached into his checkered coat to retrieve a small chip and examined it, raising his eyebrows. The Great Khan punk next to him glanced at him, then to his partner who had now finished digging a 6 foot deep hole. The silver-haired man leaned on his shovel, trying to catch his breath.

"There." He said in a thick German accent. "Now wake him up," He wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead. "Ja?"

Arthur scoffed and flicked the cigarette butt onto the ground next to the courier. The waning smoke drifted up into his face, clogging the courier's nose with the putrid smell of burning tar. His eyes fluttered open, revealing crystal blue irises that shone as the moon hit them. The first thing he did was, instinctively, stretch. But he was surprised when he found that his hands and feet were bound tightly by ropes.

His eyes moved upwards from the ground to the shoes of the men standing in front of him. He craned his neck upward, hoping to catch a glimpse of his kidnappers, but winced at the sudden pain that shot through his head like electricity.

A chuckle echoed into the quiet night sky, loud and full of smugness. "Yeah, I knew that'd happen." Arthur smirked. He took another cigarette from his pack and lit it, blowing the smoke out through his nose before blowing the rest out of his mouth. From where the courier lay, he could see Arthur fiddling something around in his free hand—What looked like a chip of some sorts and—

The courier's eyes went wide.

 _No._

"Give that-!" He started, but was cut short when Arthur began talking, his voice echoing into the silent night air.

"You're probably thinking you've got the worst luck in the world right now, right?" The Englishman began. He threw his cigarette onto the floor and stepped on it. "'Why me?', or, 'What did I do to deserve this?', right?" His tone made the courier growl in anger. He noticed this, but continued on.

"You put up quite a fight back there," Now Arthur was examining the chip fondly, smiling. "Trying to get this thing from you was like," He chuckled. "Trying to take candy from a baby drunk off Scotch. I almost thought we wouldn't succeed, but…" His smiled widened just a bit and he turned to face the courier, squatting down to hold the chip in his face. "My plans never go wrong."

At this, the courier pulled himself to his knees in one jerky motion, making Arthur jump back in surprise. The two Great Khans' grips tightened on the shovels they were holding, but Arthur put up a hand to halt them. "Calm down, Gil," He looked back to the silver haired one. "You too, Ludwig." The blonde one stiffened up and nodded respectfully.

After dusting his checkered green suit off, Arthur continued. "Let's shorten things up a bit. Y'see…" He pulled out a revolver from inside his suit and dug into his pockets to take a bullet out. "I didn't want to have to do this, chap…" He loaded it into the gun. "But…" The gun cocked with a _click!_ "To be honest…" He pointed it straight at the courier's head.

" **The game was rigged from the start."**

The only sound after that was a gunshot echoing into the night, and the thud of a body in the silence that followed.

 **Hi guys! I'm sorry this chapter was so short. As you can see it is only the prologue. I promise, promise, promise, chapters will be WAY longer! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Ghost Town Gunfight

" _Tsk, tsk, tsk, oh, comrade…"_

A voice in the dark.

Alfred could feel himself being lifted up. Air filled his lungs and he gave a weak wheeze.

" _No worries, no worries, Katyusha will fix you right up."_

He was being pressed against something cold. Blue eyes fluttered open and Alfred could just barely make out the image of a man's face on a big screen.

….A robot…?

The machine peered down at the human. It said something, and Alfred could make out it's thick Russian accent.

" _Goodsprings'll take good care of you, da?"_

The last thing Alfred could remember was the gunshot going off and the darkness that followed.

Even as he sat up, he could still hear the ringing in his ears, pounding in his head. He winced. His hand reached up to touch his head, and he found a bandage wrapped tightly around his forehead. Everything was spinning, it seemed, but from the corner of his eye, Alfred noticed a woman sitting on a stool next to the bed he was laying in. Her head was tilted downward slightly, brown-gray hair covering her face.

At first, Alfred hadn't given the girl a second thought—Everything hurt and he wanted to go back to sleep—But then he realized that he was _sitting in someone's house_ , laying in _someone's bed_ , with no recollection of how he got there, and he immediately put a hand out to shake her awake. Before he could touch her, she jumped, startled. With fluttering eyelashes, the woman looked up. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned. "Oh…? Oh!" She exclaimed.

She put a hand on Alfred's head and pushed him back down, saying something in a language he didn't quite understand. His face scrunched up in confusion and he tried to push against her hand, but she pushed him down once again before standing up and hurrying around the room, rummaging through bins and bins stacked on shelves that looked like they were ready to collapse. Alfred strained to look her way. He was dizzy and the stuffy air only made it harder to breathe. 

Then there was nothing but a fading blur, darkness surrounding his peripheral vision. For a moment, he thought he might pass out again, when suddenly he felt a sharp sting right in the vein of his arm and he shot up like a bullet.

She had stuck him with a stimpak!

The woman plopped back into her chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. She pulled off her farmer gloves and tossed them aside. Alfred stared at her for a long time until she finally met his gaze. But she quickly averted her eyes. "О, слава Богу…" She sighed, wiping sweat off of her forehead. Alfred blinked once, twice, thrice before opening his mouth to say dumbly,

"…What?"

Her head snapped up as if she'd heard a mute boy speak, but, embarrassedly, she began to twirl a lock of silvery hair between her fingers. "I said, thank God."

Alfred nodded slowly. He was still a bit dizzy, but the stimpak had certainly helped. It hurt to support his own weight, and so he leaned on the rusted metal headboard of the bed, trying to catch his breath.

Where was he? How'd he get out of that grave? How'd he survive getting shot in the head? Where was Arthur? And who was this lady with the ginormous boobs? The questions made his head hurt. He stopped and decided to focus on the mirror she was holding instead.

"Um, here," She said awkwardly, handing him the mirror quickly. Alfred took it and nodded a 'thank you' before looking at his reflection.

He looked…Relatively normal. A tight bandage was tied around his head, his blonde hair falling over it in 5 different directions. With a soft sigh, he began fixing his hair. He licked his fingers and smoothed out a particular strand of hair, and was quite satisfied when it bounced up with a 'boing!'.

"I fixed you up as best as I could…" She began, fiddling with her fingers. Alfred could see that she was a jumpy kind of person. And hey, in an atomic wasteland, who'd blame her?

"That bullet was lodged in your head like a knife—I'm sorry if I messed anything up!" She finished with a squeak and hid her face in her hands.

Alfred smiled. He reached out and put a hand on her head, ruffling her short hair up a bit. "Not too shabby for a little lady." He stretched, ignoring the nagging pain in his bones. "You got a name?"

"Katyusha!" She replied a little too quickly. She squeaked like she was a bit embarrassed, skinny hands covering her mouth as her face flushed bright red. Alfred sat up. He groaned in pain.

"So…" He began, rubbing his shoulder. "Where am I?"

"Oh! You're in Goodsprings!" The Ukrainian exclaimed. She stood up and bustled over to a window, nearly tearing the curtains off as she opened them. Alfred strained his head back to look.

There was nothing but a dirt road and a house across the street where bighorners roamed free in the gated backyard. "I don't have the best view of the town," Katyusha explained when she saw the 'That's it?' look on Alfred's face. "But I can tell you that Goodsprings has got everything you need. General store, a nice place to get a drink…"

Alfred nodded, though he was barely listening. Instead, he focused on trying to get out of the bed, his limbs sore and aching. He groaned loudly as he swung one leg over the side of the bed, then the other.

"Easy, e-easy!" Katyusha said as she scurried over to him in worried panic. She put one of her hands, which were surprisingly warm, on his back, and the other on his pelvis, gently lifting him upwards. God, it felt like his spine was literally shattering! Alfred let out a pained breath, leaning into Katyusha's hands for support. He stood, very slowly. His vision blurred for a moment. The boy stumbled and Katyusha barely caught him.

"I'm fine," Alfred said once he regained his composure. Katyusha stared up at him, one brow arched and the other furrowed. "I'm fine," He reassured, and this time he took her hands off of him and began walking-Well, limping-Around the room. "Look, see? Perfectly fine!"

He was sure that did nothing to ease her doubt, and so he demonstrated how well he was-He really wasn't, if he had to walk one more foot he would probably die-by walking over to a big machine in the middle of the room.

Katyusha must've seen the look of curiosity on Alfred's face as he looked down at the machine he was leaning on, because she walked over and stood beside it. She ran her hand along the dusty sides of the wooden contraption. It seemed to be off at the moment.

The machine was called the Vit-o-Matic Vigor Tester, the Ukrainian explained, but as Alfred looked the small wooden machine up and down, it didn't look so vigorous. The lights lining the sides were off, the inside dim behind the glass. He jumped when Katyusha banged her fist against the side of it.

….Nothing happened.

Alfred frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

Katyusha crossed her arms, sighing. "It hasn't been working for the longest. Usually if I hit it a bit, it starts up, but…"

Alfred snorted. "Maybe you have to show it love and affection instead."

Katyusha chuckled a bit, but when Alfred looked over to the smaller woman her eyebrows were knitted in obvious distress. "Uh, uh!" Alfred said quickly, scrambling to make her feel better. "Let me try!"

He could totally do this. One machine versus a Jones? It was as good as toast. Confidently, Alfred cracked his knuckles, his neck, and even stretched his legs a bit. Katyusha watched, amused.

Alfred smacked his hand against the side of the machine and...Nothing happened. Confused, he smacked it again. Again, nothing.

"It probably doesn't work," Katyusha spoke up, biting her nail. She tilted her head to the side and made an anxious sound. "Hey, um, it probably doesn't-"

"It works." Alfred cut in. He crossed his arms and stared at the machine, a bit irritated. "Maybe if I kick it…"

Kicking did not work. It did not work at all. Of all the things that could have worked, kicking the thing was not one of them. Now holding his hurt foot in his hand and hopping around on one leg like a pogo stick, Alfred could admit that he was at-least a _little_ ticked off. He made a frustrated sound and hit the glass with his fist this time. He didn't notice when it cracked, just slightly. But still, nothing major happened, just a small _'whirr'_ sound and a very loud clank.

"Come on," He sighed, exasperated.

"Would you _just,_ " A kick.

" _Turn,_ " A smack to the side.

" _On?!_ "

The wood creaked loudly from the assault and the lights on the side lit up suddenly. The shutters flipped open, revealing a big 'STRENGTH' at the top in big, bold letters.

Katyusha, who had jumped back and scurried off into the hallway, poked her head through the doorway. Her face lit up when she saw the machine in working order.

Alfred, however, was more confused than delighted. The only thing on the machine was a joystick and some arrows. What was he supposed to do?

"You just," Katyusha began, taking the initiative. She took hold of Alfred's hand and placed it on the joystick, then did the same with the other. "Squeeze the ball on the joystick and it'll—"

Before she finished, however, Alfred squeezed and the lights lit all the way up, stopping at the big 10 on top. He quickly let go of the joystick, confused and just a tiny bit scared. "No, no, that's a good thing!" Katyusha quickly reassured him. "Just do the same for the rest of the slides. I'll write down your results and tell you what they mean."

Once Alfred did as told and Katyusha had finished scribbling down in her notepad, she led the boy to a room adjoining the room they were just in. Alfred took a seat on the couch and coughed when dust puffed up from it's cushions, while Katyusha, who had gathered a pile of large cards, sat down in the green chair across from him.

"Okay, I'm going to show you these pictures, and I want you to tell me what you see. Just to see if your mind is in order….Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

The first picture looked like two bears highfiving.

The second one looked like a shadow in a doorframe. He shuddered as he remembered Arthur's shadow in the moonlight.

The third one…He had only blushed and looked away.

Katyusha hummed softly, writing down his answers on her notepad before setting it aside. "Well, everything seems to be in order, courier."

"It's Alfred." The courier said as he tried to stand, but failed. "Alfred Freedom Jones."

Helping the boy to his feet, Katyusha walked him to the door, but not before disappearing into her medical room again. Alfred heard her rummaging through bins, tossing stuff around, until finally she emerged with a piece of clothing and a…A pipboy!

"I was born and raised in Vault 21," She explained as she helped him into the Vault 21 jumpsuit. "But I left when they opened the doors. I took my sister and my brother with me. Life just wasn't good there anymore." She wrapped a tight strap around Alfred's wrist, securing the pipboy in place. "In hindsight, I really should've stayed. I lost one sibling to the raiders, and the other—" Katyusha stopped suddenly. She sucked in a sharp breath and raised a hand to wipe at her eyes. She continued on fastening the pipboy in silence until she was sure it was secure.

"Well, look at you." She mused, smiling. "If it weren't for that bandage on your head, you'd look like an ordinary Joe!"

Alfred felt his cheeks heat up at being complimented by the older woman.

"Go to the Prospector Saloon and see if Lili is there. Tell her you're the one that Ivan dug up."

Alfred felt the hot wind hit his face as Katyusha pushed him out the door, and squinted hard when the sun hit his eyes. He turned, only for the door to slam in his face. Well, so much for saying thanks.

As the courier walked about the dirt road, he realized that this place was smack in the middle of nowhere. Not only that, but half the houses were abandoned. It was like a ghost town, with a few lingering souls left to pick up the pieces. The saloon was the only structure that still looked relatively decent.

Alfred opened the door to the saloon, the sound of music hitting his ears immediately. He looked around and found the tables all empty. Quietly, he closed the door behind him, only to be greeted by a dog's loud, threatening growl.

"Vash, down!" A small girl, probably about 5'2, came dashing around the corner, her brown heeled shoes clacking as she did so. She had light blonde hair, big blue eyes, and she was wearing leather armor that looked like it had been through Hell and back. Her pale face was smudged with dirt. Despite her soft demeanor, she had a stern look on right now.

Vash looked to his owner, then back to Alfred, then back to his owner, and then back to Alfred one more time, as if saying, 'This isn't over, punk.', and then trotted behind the blonde girl. In return, she gave the dog a small pat on the head and a 'Good boy.'

"Don't worry," She said with a big smile and a giggle when she saw Alfred still curled up in the corner behind the door, his hands covering his face. He cracked his fingers to look at her, then he looked to Vash, who had his teeth bared. "It's fine, really! He only bites if I tell him to. You should get from behind the door before you get hit!"

Alfred relaxed, a breath of relief leaving him, and quickly scrambled from the door at the thought of some big, muscley guy slamming it open and leaving him flat as a pancake. "Excuse me, are you Lili?"

Lili paused, turned around, and nodded. "This is Vash."

"Yeah," Alfred said with a nervous laugh. "I got that when the dude tried to bite me."

"He wasn't actually going to do it." Lili reminded him. She craned her head back to look at Alfred, and then stopped in her tracks. "You're the one Ivan dug up?"

Alfred nodded. "That's me, yup."

"Oh, Bella's been dying to meet you! Come on, she's right in here—"

Lili was about to walk through the doorframe leading to the bar, when she suddenly moved to the side of the doorway. She motioned to Alfred to do the same. Bickering voices were heard.

"You can give him up quietly, or we can kill your whole town looking for him."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can you leave now? You're bad for business."

"This town is going to be in some bad business if you don't give up that stupid son of a—"

"Oooh, that was a good one, how long did it take you to come up with that? And I've already told you, I don't know where he is."

There was a silent pause.

"You're going to regret this."

There was another long, silent pause. "Make us, then."

A glass shattered inside the room. The sound of a door opening and slamming shut was heard. Then a soft, annoyed sigh. Lili looked to Alfred, worried, before entering the room where Bella perched on the floor. When she saw the two, she smiled. "If it isn't our very own Goodsprings celebrity!" Bella exclaimed. "How's the wound holding up-?"

"Those were the Vargas brothers again, right?" Lili blurted out, interrupting the older woman. Bella paused, averting her gaze to the floor where she continued to pick up pieces of broken glass. "…It was just Lovino this time. Here with more empty threats and," She raised a piece of the broken glass. "Shattered glasses. Seriously, I don't think he knows how hard these things are to get."

"He's here for the caravan trader, right? Toni?"

Bella sighed. "Mmhm. Says he'll kill the whole town if we don't hand him over."

Lili bit her lip. "We're not going to, are we?"

"Of course we aren't." Bella scoffed. She stood, finally, and Alfred could finally look at her and all her features. She had short, dirty blonde hair. A big green ribbon held her hair back. She wore brown, worn out shorts and a white collared button-up blouse with the first two buttons open, a brown tie hanging loosely around her neck. "He's in Goodsprings now. We can't toss him to the wolves."

Dropping the pieces of glass into a bag, Bella made her way around the counter to the bar. She turned her back to the two, scanning the shelves. "So, what'll it be?"

"Milk, please." Lili requested timidly.

"I'll have the same. Can you make mine hot, please?"

Alfred tapped the wooden counter with his fingers and looked up to see both Lili and Bella staring at him. The corners of Bella's mouth were twisted into a smile, and Lili looked equally amused. "There's nothing wrong with a 19 year old who likes hot milk!" He declared proudly, crossing his arms with a pout.

Bella handed Lili a glass bottle of milk, before turning back around. As she busily prepared Alfred's drink, she began to speak.

"So, you're the boy Ivan dug up? The one with the bullet in his brain?"

"That's me."

"You know who did it?"

Alfred rested his cheek in his palm. "He goes by the name 'Iggy Kirkland'."

Bella stopped. She looked at Alfred as if he'd grown a second head. "Iggy Kirkland put a bullet in your noggin?" The Belgian asked, shocked. "And you're not _dead_?"

Alfred frowned. "Why…? Should I be dead?"

"Well you might as well be." Bella chuckled, pouring a glass of hot milk and placing it infront of the male. "If he gets word you're alive, he might just come after you. Eliminate any enemies and all that."

"He won't," Lili said reassuringly, putting a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Not now, at least…You're safe here with us."

"Yeah, especially with Lili around. She can hold a gun better than anyone in the Mojave." Bella chimed in. She leaned on the counter, watching the two drink silently, when suddenly she felt a hand on her head. She reached up to swat at it but it was gone before she could touch it.

"Ugh! Lux!" She exclaimed, her face flushing red. The younger boy grinned and reached out to touch her head again, but she hit it away this time.

Unlike his older sister, Lux seemed to be more put-together and well-mannered. He wore a collared blue-striped button-up shirt, a gray-but-might-have-been-white-before vest, black gloves, and dirtied, torn pants. His eyes were green, like Bella's, but darker, and his hair was a lighter shade of blonde. "Bella, you aren't boring the customers, are you?"

The woman stuck her tongue out but laughed, playfully punching her younger brother in his side. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I was actually talking to our guest here. Oh, and where's Pelutze?"

As if on cue, a big, black dog walked into the room. It was soaking wet. It stopped momentarily to shake off its fur, and then trotted behind the counter and sat near Lux. The dog was big, _really_ big, and probably big enough to put its paws on Alfred's shoulders. Lux put a hand on the dog's head and smiled. "So, this is the courier? I kind of figured. New faces in Goodsprings aren't a common occurrence."

Alfred chuckled. "Well, I didn't really come by choice…"

"Lux owns the general store in the middle of town. He saw Ivan wheeling by with you when he first found you." Bella said. "Really, you should go and thank Ivan when you've got the chance. If it weren't for him, you'd still be 6ft under, only I don't think you'd be kicking."

Suddenly, Pelutze barked, and ran around the counter and out the door. Vash, startled, ran after him. "Vash!" Lili cried, hopping off her stool. Lux followed, running out the door with her. It was just Alfred and Bella, now.

Awkward silence filled the room, neither of them knowing what to say. Finally, Alfred said, "So, that guy from earlier…Why's he bothering the town?"

Bella, who had poured herself a shot of whiskey, walked around the counter and sat on the stool next to the boy. "We got a visitor about 2 weeks ago from a guy named Antonio. He was covered in blood and scared for his life, and he pretty much begged us on his hands and knees to let him stay here." The woman smiled and shook her head, sighing.

"Katyusha and Lili refused to turn him away, so the town agreed to let him stay in the gas station up the hill. Next day or so, these guys in prison jumpsuits, 'Powder Gangers' or whatever, come looking for him. They said they would kill us all if we didn't give him up. We didn't believe them at first, but then they came and killed two of our bighorners. The next day after that, two more. And now they come saying they're gonna kill the whole town!"

"What happens if you do give Toni up?" Alfred asked, curious.

"They'll probably kill him. And while I'd be fine with that…" She rested her chin in her hands. "That blood would be on our hands, courier. And we don't want that."

Alfred furrowed his brow, thinking. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You're real caring for someone who's been here 6 days asleep and only one day awake." Bella mused, poking Alfred in the cheek with her nail. "If you want to help, go up and talk to Toni, see if he'll be willing to leave town."

"Oh!" Alfred exclaimed, slamming down his now empty glass of milk. "I can do that. He'll be out of town in no time."

Bella grinned and gave him a playful slap on the back. "Courier, you might just be the best thing that's happened to Goodsprings since they found that mine way back."

Alfred couldn't help but smile at the praise, and he left 15 bottlecaps on the counter, for both his drink and Lili's.

The gas station up the hill looked eerie as the sun set, it's shadow casting all the way down the hill. Truth be told, Alfred was just a _little_ scared, because he honestly had no idea what to expect. And Bella's description of 'Covered in blood and hysterical' didn't help much either. What if Toni was a crazy old coot with a banjo? A _killing_ banjo that he played specifically _for killing_?! Or what if he was a raider who wore masks made of human skin?!

Alfred nervously scratched at the inside of his wrist as he walked up the pathway to the station. Seriously, he could've sworn he heard a crow caw in the distance.

He had to keep reminding himself that this was for the good of Goodsprings. It was the only thing that kept him from turning and bolting away from the door when he heard the soft strumming of what he could've sworn was a _killing banjo, oh god, oh god, there's a crazy bandit coot holed up inside there and he's playing that song because he's going to kill me and I am going to DIE OH MYGOD—_

With a deep breath, Alfred pushed the door open with his pinky finger, flinching when it creaked. He peeked inside, dreading the moment where he'd be hit upside the head with a baseball bat and made into some sort of flesh coat.

What he found, however, was not a crazy coot, nor a raider. It was a young Spanish man, Antonio, sitting on a box with a guitar in hand. He was singing softly in Spanish, his eyes closed. He was strumming the guitar gently, like it was precious, and his voice was delicate.

Or, it was delicate, until Alfred accidentally let the door slam behind him. Antonio jumped, startled, and quickly pulled a gun from the belt of his pants. "Whoa, whoa!" Alfred shrieked, putting his hands up in surrender immediately. "Unarmed! Unarmed!"

"Who are you?!" Antonio demanded, his finger hovering against the trigger. "Did Lovino send you? What does he want from me?!"

"No, no, Bella sent me!" Alfred stammered, his eyes focusing on the barrel of the gun. Oh jeez, that was a, what, Chinese pistol? Those bullets were a pain to get out. He sincerely hoped Antonio would not shoot the living hell out of him.

"Bella?" Antonio asked, now visibly more relaxed. His grip on the gun loosened, but he still held it up. "What's wrong? I can't stay anymore? I don't have anywhere else to go—They'll kill me!"

"Dude, dude, chill. And please put the gun down. You're really making me nervous!"

Antonio let out a deep breath, frustrated. He set the pistol aside. "Perdóname. [Forgive me.]" He whispered, rubbing his temples.

Alfred relaxed too. At least now he didn't have to worry about being shot full of holes. Sighing quietly, the American put his hands down and placed them in the pockets of his vault jumpsuit. He waited for Antonio to look up. When he man did, Alfred nearly jumped, because this guy looked _scary_.

His hair was curly and unkempt, probably because the Mojave Wasteland didn't exactly have a barber shop at every corner. A slight stubble had begun to grow on his chin, making him look older. His clothes were bloodstained, as well as some parts of his arms, and there was dirt underneath his fingernails, turning them a blackish color. One of his pants legs were torn, and the other dirty beyond belief. His green eyes contrasted with his tan skin, yet despite his appearance, his eyes were still filled with something. Hope?

"Why are the Powder Gangers after you, Toni?"

"It isn't the Powder Gangers after me. La mitad de esos idiotas ni siquiera sé quién soy , probablemente. [Half of those idiots don't even know who I am, probably.]" Antonio responded, his voice sharp. He looked at Alfred, and Alfred could see his eyes were watery.

"It's Lovino. I hurt him bad a few years ago, and he's been chasing after me ever since. But now that he has the Powder Gangers with him, he's got me cornered. He wants me dead."

"What'd you do?" Alfred inquired, curious. He pulled up an empty crate near him and sat across from the Spanish man. "Cause if you put a bullet in his head, then I think I speak for him when I say that fucking _sucks._ "

Antonio raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I didn't put a bullet in his head, idiota."

"Well, did you stab him? Cause, y'know, I heard stabbing people usually has the same effect."

"I didn't stab him."

Alfred paused. So he didn't stab him. He didn't shoot him. What could he have done to make Lovino, and consequently, the Powder Gangers, so angry at him?

After a while, Antonio sighed. "I didn't harm him, or his brother, I—Doesn't matter anyways. What'd you come here to tell me?"

Alfred gulped, hard. How do you go about telling someone who has nowhere else to go that they have to leave? He breathed in, closed his eyes, and said,

"I'm going to help you fight the Powder Gangers."

Alfred was lucky Katyusha was nice enough to let him sleep on her couch.

But for some reason, he just couldn't get to sleep. He could still see Antonio's face as it lit up with amazement, hope, like he'd just seen a fucking double rainbow. He liked the feeling he got, making people happy like that.

But he could still see Bella today at the Saloon, too—How she playfully swatted at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him like a child. How she entrusted Alfred with one simple task and he failed _horribly._

Lili, too. What would happen to her should the Powder Gangers come looking for a fight? And Katyusha, the lady who was kind enough to, oh, you know, save his life? Would they die? Would they all die?

He gulped, and turned onto his side, clutching the knitted quilt Katyusha gave him tightly. His pipboy beeped underneath him.

 _Oh, right._ Alfred thought. _I still have this thing._

He rolled onto his back and raised his wrist, staring at the screen in silence. He swiped to the left and found a map. Goodsprings was the only marked place on it. He swiped again and found...An empty page.

It wouldn't hurt to keep a list of everything he needs to do, would it? Alfred entered the word 'Quests' at the top. Wow, that sounded totally lame.

He sighed. What on earth would he call this? Willingly sacrificing a whole town just to save one guy because he showed some tears? Full on murder? Betrayal?

Alfred opted for 'Ghost Town Gunfight'.

As he tried to fall asleep, he sincerely wished that the gunfight didn't end in a ghost town.

 **A/N: Just a disclaimer, Fallout New Vegas and it's contents do not belong to me, neither does Hetalia and it's characters!**

 **Remember when I said chapters were gonna be longer? I meant it!**

 **Please, please, leave feedback and tell me what I did wrong, and if you have any ideas for the future chapters! Thanks a lot for reading! ^U^**


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